Web development
WordPress help
There is a particular email I get on Wednesdays: the site worked yesterday, someone clicked update, and now it is white. It is usually fixable in under an hour if you know where to look.
- Same-day reply
- Fixed price
- No lock-in
- Urgent debugging
- Hacked sites
- Failed updates
- No lock-in
Service
WordPress help
The problems I see most
- White screen after an update. Almost always a PHP error in a plugin that has not been maintained.
- The site is hacked and sending spam. That means both cleaning up and finding how they got in.
- The admin has become unusably slow, typically from a bloated options table.
- Forms stop sending mail because the host changed something in their mail setup.
- Google has deindexed pages because a search engine setting got switched off by mistake.
How I approach it
First I find out what happened, and only then do I fix it. That sounds obvious, but a surprising share of the help people have had elsewhere consists of switching things off until the error goes away. Then it comes back three weeks later.
I ask for hosting and WordPress access, take a backup before touching anything, and write down what I changed. You get a short note with what was wrong, what I did, and what it takes to stop it happening again.
If the site is hacked
It is more urgent than people think, not because of the site but because of the domain's reputation. Google flags quickly, and getting the flag removed takes longer than getting flagged.
I clean the files, check the database for injected scripts, rotate all keys and salts, and read access logs to find the way in. If it was an outdated plugin, I will say so, even if it is a plugin someone paid for.
Deliverables
What you get
Concrete deliverables, not a report of recommendations someone else has to find time for.
- The fault found and fixed
The cause, not just the symptom. Switching things off until the error goes away is not a fix, it is a postponement.
- A backup before anything is touched
Files and database, so there is always a way back. It takes ten minutes and has saved more sites than anything else.
- A written note
What was wrong, what I did, and what it takes to stop it happening again. A couple of paragraphs, not a report.
- No lock-in
Most of these are one-off jobs and that is how it should be. I do not sell a contract on the back of an emergency.
Process
How it works
Four steps. You know what happens when, and you can stop after any of them.
- 01
Get on a call
Twenty minutes where you explain what is going wrong and I ask the questions that decide the scope. I say so immediately if the job is not a fit.
- 02
I read the code
Before quoting I spend half a day to a day reading the project. You get an honest assessment of the state of things, including when it is worse than you hoped.
- 03
Fixed price and scope
You get a written quote with what is included, what is not, and when it is done. Not a three-month range you cannot plan around.
- 04
Delivery in your workflow
I work in your git repository and open pull requests that can be reviewed. Everything I touch is documented, so knowledge does not walk out the door with me.
Who does the work
I am the person you will be working with
My name is Mikkel and I have been building for the web since 2010. There is no project manager in between, and you will not get a junior on the job because the senior was busy. What you agree is what gets built, and I am the one building it.
Day to day I am a partner at Bigum&Co, and I have worked on more than 400 projects across ecommerce, pharma, construction and the public sector. Call or write — I usually reply the same day, and I will say straight away if the job is not a fit.
- Experience
- 16 yrs
- Projects
- 400+
- Rating
- 5.0
- Reply time
- Same day
In depth
WordPress help
The five calls I get most
White screen after an update. Almost always a PHP error in an unmaintained plugin that goes over the edge when WordPress or PHP is updated. It typically takes under an hour to find, if you know how to turn on error display without exposing it to visitors.
The site is hacked and sending spam. It is more urgent than people think — not because of the site, but because of the domain's reputation. Google flags quickly, and the flag takes longer to remove than it took to earn.
The admin has become unusably slow. Nine times out of ten it is a bloated options table where a plugin has stored thousands of rows with autoload on. It is an hour's work and feels like a new site afterwards.
Forms stop sending. Typically because the host changed something in their mail setup, and because WordPress sends mail in the most fragile way available. The fix is sending through a proper mail service instead.
Pages have vanished from Google. Here the most common cause is a setting under Reading that got switched on at some point and nobody has noticed since.
If the site is hacked
There is a fixed order. First take a copy of everything as it stands — even infected. You need to be able to look at it afterwards, and to roll back if the cleanup removes too much.
Then clean the files. The WordPress core and plugins get replaced with clean copies from source rather than patched, because otherwise you cannot be certain. The theme and uploads get reviewed by hand, because that is where it usually hides.
Then the database. Injected scripts in posts, unknown administrator accounts, and scheduled tasks that recreate the whole thing once you think you are done. That last one is what people most often miss, and the reason a site gets hacked again three days later.
Finally all keys, salts and passwords get rotated, and we read access logs to find the way in. If it was an outdated plugin, I say so, including when it is one somebody paid for.
Reviews
What people say about me
Mikkel Tschentscher is my lifeline when something is urgent and nobody else can work it out.
Torben Wiese(translated from Danish) Mikkel is a man after my own heart. Executes at lightning speed, has an eye for detail and is always there when you need him. It does not get better than that.
Tini Owild(translated from Danish) He is simply a pro. Highly competent and precise, brings good input, and is a huge support.
Carsten Johan Thessen(translated from Danish)
Services
Why me
- 16 years of experience
I have built for the web since 2010 and seen most of the ways a project can come off the rails. It makes the estimates more honest.
- 400+ projects
Across ecommerce, pharma, construction and the public sector. Chances are I have seen something close to your job before.
- You talk to the person coding
No project manager in between, and no junior on the job because the senior was busy. What you agree is what gets built.
Brands I have worked with
A selection. Some freelance, some through agencies, some across several years.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
- How quickly can you look at it?
- If the site is down, I prioritise it. Write or call and I will tell you immediately whether I can take it today or tomorrow. I do not promise what I cannot keep.
- Do I need a retainer to get help?
- No. Most of these are one-off jobs and that is how it should be. If it turns out something more fundamental is wrong I will say so, but I do not sell a contract on the back of an emergency.
- Can you help even if you did not build the site?
- Yes, that is the normal case. I have seen most of the themes and plugins on the Danish market at some point.
- How quickly can you look at it?
- If the site is down, I prioritise it. Write or call and I will tell you immediately whether I can take it today or tomorrow. I do not promise what I cannot keep.
- Can you help even if you did not build the site?
- Yes, that is the normal case. I have seen most of the themes and plugins on the Danish market at some point.
- What does urgent help cost?
- I give a fixed price as soon as I have seen the problem — usually within a couple of hours of you writing. Then you know the cost before I start.